Bookburger

alyson noel...between the buns

"Sex and the City at 37,000 feet" is what Publisher's Weekly calls Alyson Noel's Fly Me to the Moon. Sure, it's ultra-light reading--but, if you ask us (and we think Beatrice's Ron Hogan would agree) this world can never have enough stories of flight attendants in love.  Alyson, who also penned this year's YA novel Laguna Cove, and last year's Art Geeks and Prom Queens, hopes to reach an older audience with this latest, due out on the day after Christmas. She's a busy jetsetter, and we're thrilled she touched down at Bookburger to take our little pop quiz...

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?

I LOVED Joseph Weisberg’s 10th Grade- so funny, poignant, and wonderful!   Also, Laura Moriarty’s The Center of Everything, Lori Jakiela’s Miss New York has Everything, Joy Nicholson’s The Tribes of Palos Verdes, Elisabeth Robinson’s The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters. . . I know there’s like a gazillion more, but that’s all I can think of at the moment!

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

Anything by Judy Blume or Norma Klein could keep me tucked away and quiet for hours!  I read Deenie so many times the cover fell off!  But I kept it all these years- taped on cover and all!  Are you there God?  It’s me, Margaret, was passed to so many friends I eventually lost track of it.  Go Ask Alice was the one we hid from our moms (even though I didn’t really have to since my mom never censored!).  And reading Love is One of the Choices, French Postcards, and Forever made me feel so mature and grown up.  And then of course, Catcher in the Rye--one of the few books they made us read in school that I’ve gone back and read many times since.

Describe your ideal place to write.

At home, in my office, with the door closed, the blinds drawn, the ringer silenced, the TV off, and a full pot of coffee by my side.

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song, one event that would be on the "best of" episode, and one that would be on the blooper reel.

Everyday I Write The Book by Elvis Costello is definitely my theme song.

My “Best Of” episode features the day when Jon Stewart calls to ask me if I’ll be a guest on The Daily Show, Bono adds me to his e-mail forwarding list, Oprah sends me a text msg telling me I’m her next book club pic, commercial and literary authors stop sniping long enough to hug it out, and all across the planet diseases are cured, the hungry are fed, poverty is erased, rainbows appear, birds chirp, animals frolic, and all are at peace.  That day hasn’t actually happened yet, but I’m waiting. . .

My “Blooper Reel” shows the all too real clip of me, sitting at my desk, at 4:30 in the afternoon, in coffee stained pajamas, still not showered.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

Um, does spending over ten years clad in a head to toe, highly flammable, polyester ensemble, with plastic wings, support hose, little fake pearl earrings, and fugly pumps count?  I traveled the world in that get up, working as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines!  And I wrote a book about it called Fly Me to the Moon.

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should
it have?

Ah, that’s so sweet!  Okay, let’s start with organic, free range turkey, a generous dollop of guacamole, a couple slices of melted manchego cheese, two stips of crispy, organic, free range, turkey bacon, a thick slice of tomato, and a whole grain bun.  And if you could pile some fat fries on the side, and throw in an icy cold Arnold Palmer, I’ll be eternally grateful!

Thanks Bookburger!!

laura ruby...between the buns

Laura Ruby is doing double-duty these days, with a YA novel, Good Girls, that came out this fall, and a book of interconnected stories aimed at slightly older readers due to pop on January 4. The latter is I'm Not Julia Roberts—and we burger-flippers can totally relate, because we are not Julia Roberts either. Not even close. Laura's book is a funny-but-wrenching read about a group of families trying to cope with life in the wake of divorce. Sound familiar? You'll want to pick it up.  Laura recently bared her soul in our pop quiz ...and requested to have a pizza named in her honor rather than the traditional burger! We do love a rebel...

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?

Matt Ruff.  In 1988, when he was in his early 20s, he wrote Fool on the Hill — which is this insane, fabulous fantasy set on the campus of Cornell University.  It has everything: randy sprites, evil rats, religious dogs, cynical cats, kick-ass chicks, writers, dragons, Tolkien, Shakespeare, and a mysterious guy named Mr. Sunshine who seems to be orchestrating the whole thing with the help of a band of typing monkeys.  Big fun. 

And just a few years ago, Ruff released Set This House in Order, which is a brilliant, complex, moving love story about a man with multiple personality disorder who meets a woman with multiple personality disorder.  Very different from his first book, more serious, more tragic, but just as amazing. 

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

One of my favorite books was Allegra Maud Goldman by Edith Konecky.   It was absolutely hilarious; I read it over and over again.  I'm not sure if it's in print anymore, but it should be.

I was also fond of Judy Blume's Deenie and, of course, Forever.  Lois Duncan's Summer of Fear and Lois Lowry's Summer to Die. I adored The Outsiders and The Catcher in the Rye.   In high school, I devoured everything Stephen King ever wrote, but I also loved reading the plays Waiting for Godot (Beckett) and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Stoppard).

Describe your ideal place to write.

My office, which is a total wreck, but I love it.  It's got hundreds of books (for reading when one should be writing).  It's got two computers (for internet surfing and song downloads).  It's got a window (for daydreaming).  And it's got two cats (for much needed writing advice).

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song, one event that would be on the "best of" episode, and one that would be on the blooper reel.

Theme song: "A Girl In Trouble (is a temporary thing)" by Romeo Void.

Best of:  Meeting the husband in New Orleans.  In a bar.  On Bourbon Street.  (I swear no beads were involved).  We danced to a funk band till the wee hours of the morning and then talked children's books.  And yes, it was as perfect as it sounds. 

Blooper:  His name was Paul.  And that's all I'm saying.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

In college, I was a waitress at a place called "Stuff Yer Face" which required a T-shirt with the words "Stuff Yer Face" scrawled across the chest.  And  yeah, the frat boys had a field day with that one.

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should it have?

Alas, Bookburger, the "Laura" burger would actually be a pizza with extra cheese, spinach and those little mushrooms out of a can.

Highly unorthodox, Laura...but for you, anything!

Niki Burnham...between the buns

We have loved men named Georg (no, not George--definitely not George!--GEORG...pronounced gay-org) ever since we first saw The Sound of Music. Seriously, Christopher Plummer as Captain Georg von Trapp is the very model of a smokin' man-in-uniform, don't you agree? Remember how the Baroness purrs his name..."oh Georg..." The more we see that movie, the more we wish she had nabbed him. We're kind of over the chirpy nun.

ANYHOW...Niki Burnham's YA novels Royally Jacked, Spin Control, and the latest, Do-Over (or Doover, as we like to call it) are all about a sweet young American girl who meets a hot Euro-prince named GEORG in a ski resort in the Alps. Can't get much more fabulous than that...until complications ensue. These are seriously fun novels (and see her site for other books she's penned). We're fans, so we asked Niki to pop on by and take our pop quiz...and she did:

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?

I really enjoy reading Lynda Sandoval and Alyson Noel.  They both write books I stay up until 3 am to
finish.  People have probably heard of them, though. 

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

I thought Trixie Belden was the bomb.  She solved mysteries, she defied her brothers when they were
being jerks even though she loved 'em like crazy, she had fantastic friends, and she got the cute (and smart!) guy in the end.  What's NOT to like? 

Describe your ideal place to write.

Anywhere that I have coffee and decent back support is good.  Also, I need to make sure I'm giving off sufficient, "don't talk to me vibes" that I'm left alone. I hate when I'm mid-paragraph and someone wants to chat.

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song, one event that would be on the "best of" episode,
and one that would be on the blooper reel.

While I would like to think of my life having a sweeping soundtrack by John Williams (think Star Wars, etc.), I'd probably have some silly ditty about moving around a lot.  Not Movin' On Up, like The
Jeffersons, but moving AROUND.  My dad was in the army, so I moved all over the place as a kid, and
I still travel a lot.

Highlight reel:  Meeting my husband (there would be an "ooohh!" on the laugh track.)

Blooper reel:  Just yesterday, my cat threw up in my laundry basket.  It's quite disturbing to pull
clothes out of your laundry basket to wash them, then see they're stuck together with this nasty
mystery goop.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

I worked food service at a fancy hotel in New York during my college breaks.  I had to wear a disgusting black polyester dress, a white apron, and these ugly white nursing shoes.  The shoes would get food and glop all over them and I had to clean 'em every night.  And even when I got them clean, they looked revolting.  I hated walking into the dining room to serve people in those shoes.  I always felt like I should apologize.  Something along the lines of, "I know puffy white shoes do not
go with a black waitress dress, but I am compelled to wear these by the management.  If the shoes have ruined your appetite, I apologize."

The worst part of all was that I had to pay for those shoes out of my own pocket and they were
pricey.

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should it have?

Oh, yummy.  A FOOD question!!  Set me up with a quarter pound of organic beef on a toasted bun. Top it with lettuce, a thick slice of garden-grown tomato, and swiss cheese.  Some spicy mustard would finish it off perfectly.  If anyone wants to join me, I'd recommend a garden salad and a tall glass of pink lemonade as accompaniment.

Perfect Niki! No doover necessary...

alice hoffman...between the buns

Best-selling mega-novelist Alice Hoffman is one of our all-time faves. Her writing melts the earthly and the supernatural into a delicious fondue that that you'll want to dip into again and again. And because she's written fifteen novels, you can! (yeah, we skipped breakfast this morning, how'd you guess?). Her most recent offering is Incantation, a haunting YA story set during the 15th-century Spanish Inquisition. Not the MOST fun period in history, but Ms. Hoffman makes it a unforgettable place to visit. So what makes this super-successful and beloved writer tick? We decided to go ask Alice...

Who are your favorite writers that most people have never heard of?

All of these are well known, but maybe not to everyone:  Shirley Jackson (We Have Always Lived in the Castle). I love fantasy so Ray Bradbury, Charles DeLint, Kelly Link. Emily Bronte!!!!! Favorite of all time.

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

The Catcher in the  Rye. All of Edward Eager's magic books, especially Half Magic,   Wuthering Heights,  "The Lottery" (short story)

What one thing do you wish you could say to your 15-year-old self?

Have more fun! Don't worry so much!!! Don't trust someone just because they say they're your friend. Go to Paris.

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song.

"Bring Me to Life", or anything by Amy Lee.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

Worked in a movie theatre, Bullocks Department store, a Hospital in the X ray dept, a book factory, a clothing store, typing notes in a sex clinic -- but none needed a uniform!!!

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should
it have?

It should have everything, but hold the burger. (Unless it's soy).

SO-EASY-ITS-SPOOKY GIVEAWAY: We've got three copies of Incantation to bestow upon hungry readers. The first three people to email us a photo of themselves wearing a Halloween costume will get  'em! (US residents only, please!)

Maureen Johnson...between the buns

Maureen Johnson (or MoJo, as we like to call her) wrote a lovely novel, just released in paperback, called  13 Little Blue Envelopes, which has its teen heroine traveling through Europe on a very personal quest. Now she's got a new book out, Devilish. It's a YA take on Faust, complete with soul-selling, Catholic-school shenanigans, and other naughty & nifty twists. We think Devilish is delish, and so we asked MoJo to dish with us. Here's what she said.

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?

I’d like to think these writers are commonly known, but just in case they’re not:

Christopher Isherwood, who wrote The Berlin Stories, as well as several other amazing books.

Patrick Dennis, whose Auntie Mame books should be read by everyone

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

Two always stick out. The first is The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I was completed obsessed with that book.

The other one is The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois. I must have read this when I was really small and I loved it. But then I couldn’t quite remember for a while if this was something I read or I dreamed . . . a story about people who live on an island full of diamonds, each family owns a restaurant, the ground shakes. I was describing it to someone years later, and they knew it instantly. So I ran out and got a copy, and it all came rushing back—the illustrations, the balloons, the restaurants and diamonds.

Describe your ideal place to write.

I like a little noise around me, but not too much. And I don’t like to have too great of a view. I prefer tables to desks, so I can spread out my pages.

My dream is to find some kind of coffee place that has decent tables, good music, and someone to watch your computer so you can get up and wander around. Do such places exist? I would love to know.

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song, one event that would be
on the "best of" episode, and one that would be on the blooper reel.

Theme song: I think I’d like “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim (the one with the Christopher Walken dancing video), because you need something catchy.

Best of: Day two, freshman year of high school. A school assembly. We were generally being berated by the principal for being idiots simply because we were new, and how we were generously being given three more days to memorize and master the school’s endless, Kafkaesque list of rules.  I am already slightly terrified, because I’m not Catholic and this school is very strange and unfamiliar to me. (Plus, right by the front door, there is a picture of nuns being mowed down by machine guns and falling into a mass grave. That’s the school’s welcome mat. Really.)

Suddenly, my best friend (seated next to me) is seized by the Muse of Comedy and begins buzzing in my ear the single most hilarious commentary that I have ever heard in my life. I am trying not to laugh. Tears are running down my face. I claw at her leg and beg her to stop. She says she can’t, she’s been possessed. I hiss that we are about to get kicked out of the school after 48 hours, which has to be a record. She says she can’t help that. I start smacking her as much as I can without being seen. Nothing will stop her. I stab her with my pen. She only gets funnier.

The principal stops, stares right at us, and says that she is—at this very moment—witnessing the single most egregious violation of behavior, ever. I more or less die at that point, and my soul leaves my body halfway. I am 100% certain that we are about to be expelled, possibly taken out and killed. To this day, I cannot entirely explain why this did not happen. This experience, however, would set the tone for the next four years of my life, which is honestly a lot more fun than it sounds. (And I turned the school into St. Teresa’s Prep School for Girls, the setting of Devilish.)

Blooper reel: Me, aged four, singing the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree” (as performed by Tony Orlando and Dawn) into the suction tube of a vacuum cleaner. So excited am I by this performance that I run around the vacuum in circles as I sing, then I trip over the cord and snap my arm in two. I was a smart kid.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

Several. There were certainly a lot of aprons involved. When I first moved to New York to go to grad school, I worked in a haunted house theme restaurant. I had to wear an Indiana Jones hat and a shirt with a big skull on it. I also had a nametag that said my name was Dixie. (I honestly can’t repeat the jokes that came with that.)

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should it have?

Veggie burger please. I’ll have mine with roasted red pepper, avocado, and Monterrey Jack. Pickles on the side. And all the condiments in the house.

Tanya Lee Stone...between the buns

Since Tanya Lee Stone's novel, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, is written in verse, we actually thought about writing this introduction in verse...but we don't have much rhythm, so we didn't. Instead we'll just say that this debut novel is a very frank look at the love life of teens, and a great story too...we asked Tanya to take our pop quiz, and here are her very frank answers...

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?

My Dad, A. Harris Stone. He published a bunch of great science books for kids in the 60 and 70s, including a beautiful environmental picture book called The Last Free Bird.

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

As a little kid, there were two: Where the Wild Things Are and Harold and the Purple Crayon. A little later, Amelia Bedelia!

In middle school: Forever and a collection of short stories called The Diamond Bird and Other Tales.

As a teen: Confederacy of Dunces. Still Life with Woodpecker. Valley of the Dolls. (Um, that last one wasn't on any reading lists, and I pretty much had to hide it. Lots of dogeared pages.)

Describe your ideal place to write.

I grew up on the beach and now I'm landlocked, so I'm constantly craving an open expanse of water. I'd love a bright airy ocean view with an uncluttered desk and no interruptions. Anybody?

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song, one event that would be
on the "best of" episode, and one that would be on the blooper reel.

It might be a bit slow for a theme song, but the lyrics blast. Carly Simon's Give Me All Night.

I have no need of half of anything.
No half time, no half a man's attention.
Give me all the earth and sky
And at the same time, add a new dimension....

Don't give me fountains, I need waterfalls
And when I cry, my tears'll fill an ocean
The pain of love I'll accept it all
As long as you'll join me in that emotion...

For the "Best Of" episode: Verklempt writer is recuperating--okay, hiding--under the covers after grueling visit from [close relative who shall not be named] and ignoring the phone, which keeps ringing and ringing and ringing. I finally pick up, in case of emergency. It's my agent, telling me Wendy Lamb loves A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl and wants to talk to me!

Blooper? I can do blooper. My friend Sarah Aronson (fab writer) and I went out the wrong gate of a hotel pool, and found ourselves on a ledge 15 feet above the sidewalk with the gate locked behind us. The only choice (other then risking limbs and jumping) was to climb back over the tall, spikily topped fence--in our bathing suits. It was NOT graceful. By the time we got down on the other side we were laughing so hard it's a miracle we didn't wet our pants. Just at that major Lucy and Ethel moment, Norton Juster sauntered over and asked us what was so funny. You'd think two writers could have mustered something clever to say in the presence of greatness; instead we just looked at each other and burst out laughing all over again. Knuckleheads!

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

It wasn't exactly a uniform, since I didn't have to wear it every day. But when I worked at an aquarium, and it was time to clean the harbor seal tank or help the veterinarian handle those cute (wild, sharp-toothed) creatures, on went the thigh-high rubber boots and rubber gloves that went up past the elbow. Attractive!

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should it have?

Medium rare. With cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, and an onion ring. Overdone thick-cut fries on the side, please. Mmmm, Potato-ey. Thanks, BookBurger!

janet fitch..between the buns

Janet Fitch wrote White Oleander first, then Paint It Black, her awesome new novel about a young punk-rock chick in Los Angeles who loses the love of her life.  We have a big crush on her and her work...so we popped our quiz at her. Here's what she tossed back. She's given us enough reading suggestions to keep us busy until we're elderly ladies browsing the large-print section of the bookstore..and what amazing suggestions, from big names to, let's face it, writers we've REALLY, TRULY never heard of...wow! we feel empowered! Thanks Janet.

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?

Silvia Warner Townsend, Lolly Willowes
Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon
Les Plesko, The Last Bongo Sunset
Mikhail Bulgakov, Heart of a Dog, The Master and Margarita
Steve Erickson, Our Ecstatic Days
Joy Williams, The Living and the Dead
Anne Carson, The Beauty of the Husband, a novel in poems
Eve Babitz, L.A. Woman
Ann Nietzke, Windowlight
George Irwin, Exquisite Corpse
Kem Nunn, Pomona Queen
Diane Wakoski, Looking for the King of Spain (poems)
Mary Rakow, The Memory Room
Denise Nicholas, Freshwater Road
Rita Williams, If the Creek Don’t Rise
Donald Rawley, Slow Dance on the Fault Line

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

Kid Books:

King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
The King Must Die by Mary Renault
Edgar Allan Poe short stories
The Book of Marvels by Richard Halliburton
The Sword in the Stone  by TH White
The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber
Traditional Haiku

There were very few “teen books” per se when I was growing up, but books that appealed to me were:

The People Yes by Carl Sandburg (first book I bought with my own money)
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg
The Diaries of Anais Nin
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Doestoyevsky
The poetry of Diane Wakoski
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? By Horace McCann
Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
The Spy who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

What one thing do you wish you could say to your 15-year-old self?

Do something that’s brave for you, every day. Just in small ways. Take more chances, dare to be incompetent, look stupid or be rejected.

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song.

Talk of the Town by the Pretenders.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

Office worker outfits. I was a Manpower Temp and wore pleated skirts and high heels, nylons. I could get dressed in ten minutes-- I had two skirts and two pairs of heels, which was usually fine because I normally was only on a job for a day or two.   But sometimes I was at a company for a couple of weeks, and people would start dropping hints…

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should it have?

The Persephone Burger.  It should have a hole in the middle, filled with something dark, like olives. There's always a certain darkness at the center of my books.

PS... GIVEAWAY SPECTACULAR: We'll be giving away a copy of Paint It Black to a member of our B-List---and a SET of Paint It Black and White Oleander to a new member (everyone who signs up anytime between today and October 31 will be eligible). Just check out the "we deliver" box on the right side of this page to join...

Stephenie Meyer...between the buns

We had an eerie feeling a few months ago that fangs would be a must-have accessory this fall...and golly, we hate to brag, but our fashion sense is as sharp as ever, burgerpeople. Stephenie Meyer's New Moon, a follow up to the uber-popular Twilight, is number one on the NYT bestseller list this week. So we channeled Buffy and hunted down our favorite vampire-novelist....and when we finally found her, we asked her these impertinent questions:

Who are your favorite writers that most people have never heard of?

Eva Ibbotson, Polly Shulman, and Shannon Hale (though she’s better known than the other two).

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

The Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, A Little Princess by Frances Burnett… (I mostly read adult books growing up—the thicker the book the better.  I think of Pride and Prejudice and Gone with the Wind as YA, but they probably don’t really count.)

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song.

Hysteria by Muse.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

I’ve only had one job that required a uniform.  I was working in the business center of a resort, and I had to wear a skirt and blazer in “eggplant” purple with a horrible kaleidoscope-print acetate blouse underneath.   Not flattering.

We'd like to name a burger in your honor. What kind of fixins should it have?

The “Stephenie” should be the name for the plainest burger you have.  I’m anti-condiments.

And finally, vampires have been around for so long. In your opinion, why are they (as a subject for books and movies) so totally undead?

  I think there are two reasons.  First, people love monsters and horror stories in general.  There’s nothing like being frightened in a controlled situation to get the adrenalin pumping.  Second, of all the monsters that we have to choose from, vampires are hands-down the sexiest.  Who can resist both adrenalin and pheromones combined?

 

between the buns with...laura dave

Remember a while back we told you that Reese Witherspoon was interested in starring in a film version of London is the Best City in America? We weren't fibbing! She's optioned the rights to the book, and we like this funny-sad novel too, so we optioned the right to ask author Laura Dave a few basic, burning questions...oh, and by the way, Laura has kindly given us a signed copy of London to bestow upon a lucky b-list member, so sign up over there on the right (it won't cost a penny, or a shilling, or a pound).

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of?

I am a huge fan of Shannon Olson, who wrote this great novel called Welcome to My Planet: Where English is Sometimes Spoken.  I  also love Pam Houston, Meghan Daum, Sue Miller and Charles Baxter.

When you were growing up, what kid or teen writer rocked your world?

So many!  I think I read every book in the "freshman dorm" series, at least 2x!  I also loved Remember Me to Harold Square by Paula Danziger and Forever by Judy Blume.

My favorite kid book of all time may be Penelope Gets Wheels by esther allen peterson.  It is about a little girl who buys roller skates with her birthday money because she can't afford a bike.

Where's your ideal place to write?

I always write in the same coffee shop, a few blocks from my apartment in new york city.  I wrote my whole novel there.  It is down a flight of stairs--and kind of dark and homey. They let you sit for hours...for the bargain price of a cup of coffee!

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song, one event that would be on the "best of" episode, and one that would be on the blooper reel.

The theme song would have to be "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks--because i've sang that song (too badly) too many times to not give it some credit.  The "Best of" episode would have to feature the day in 8th grade that I got into all county chorus.  It was the closest I came to fulfilling my dreams of becoming a singer!  The blooper reel, unfortunately, would include the hundreds of other times when I was told in no uncertain terms not to give up my day job to follow that dream.

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

I had 13 jobs the year i was writing london is the best city in america.  One of the worst ones was at a high-end shoe store.  The geeky uniform: an itchy sweater set.  And very high shoes.

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should It have?

I love a juicy burger with cheddar cheese and barbeque sauce.  Extra pickles.  And please...hold the onions!

And finally....what is the lowdown on reese and ryan? Have you had dinner at their house yet? 

No dinners at their house----though i remember reading somewhere that Reese is an excellent cook. I definitely wouldn't be surprised, if that were true.  Us southern girls are taught to cook almost as soon as we are taught to walk!  My claim to fame: the best banana pudding in the world, a cribbed version of this recipe. (i hold the meringue, and add extra wafers!!!)

MMmm. Nilla wafers. Glad bikini season is almost over...

between the buns with...Lisi Harrison

To introduce Lisi Harrison, author of the controversially snarly and hilarious series The Clique (newest edition, #6: Dial L for Loser, just sauntered onto the shelves), we thought it best to let this fan who posted on Amazon speak:

Being 13 and one of the self-proclaimed biggest fans of the Clique series, I would say that this one (#6) did not fail me at all! I mean, being from a part of California that's actually (gasp!) not Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Orange County, or Beverly Hills, I really don't like reading books that talk about L.A., but, being a Clique lover, I just had to read it. I hearted it! People that don't like it most likely don't have any of these three things: style, imagination, or fun.

Hey, absolutely, Allison of California! So we dialed L for Lisi, she answered, and here's the result:

Who is your favorite writer that most people have never heard of? 

Every girl that has written me fan mail. Their letters are hilarious, honest, creative and sweet. They keep me going.

What kid or teen books rocked your world growing up?

Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh - Inspired me to become a writer. And taught me how much fun it can be to observe the people around you.

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'engle - Showed me the power of imagination.

Nancy Drew by-Carolyn G. Keene -Made me want to have a boy's name (how cool is the name George for a girl???)

What one thing do you wish you could say to your 15-year-old self?

Don't smoke. Trust me you will want to quit eventually and when you do you will gain 15 pounds, cry for weeks and curse the day you ever started. (FYI- I haven't had a cigarette in 8 years. YAY me!

Your life is a TV series. Name the theme song.

A mash-up of Material Girl by Madonna and Free To Be...You and Me

Burger-flippers want to know: have you ever had a job that required you to wear a geeky uniform? Details, please!

When I first started at MTV my old boss made me get inside a Butt-Head costume (as in Beavis and Butt-Head) and march in a parade through Aspen, Co. People were hanging out on balconies whipping snowballs at my massive head and it kept tipping over. Eventually two big dudes had to walk beside me to keep me from losing my balance and and eating pavement.

We'd like to name a burger in your honor.  What kind of fixins should it have?

Mac & Cheese with ketchup. Call it the Mac & Cheeseburger.

Thanks Lisi!

UPDATE: Click here, then add a comment about THE CLIQUE MOVIE to our latest Lisi Harrison post...and be entered to win the brand new Clique #7: It's Not Easy Being Mean--due out March 7! See details here.